Cognizant raises 2017 revenue, profit forecast

Cognizant Technologies, one of India’s largest employers, reported a 3.5% jump in its quarterly revenue in dollar terms, and raised the lower end of its full-year revenue forecast for 2017.

It said it now expects revenue for the current year to be in the range of $14.70 billion to $14.84 billion. It had guided for 14.56 billion to $14.84 bln in the last two quarters.

It also improved the full-year profit guidance to $3.67 per share from $3.64.

The new revenue forecast implies a growth of 9-10% this year compared with the earlier guidance of 8-10%.

However, the company’s revenues are shown in US dollars, a currency that has seen significant decline in recent weeks. As a result, moving the lower end of the forecast does not necessarily mean that the company is expecting better operating conditions compared to what it was before.

“Our second quarter results and improved full year outlook demonstrate solid execution in our plan to drive sustainable revenue growth while increasing margins,” said Karen McLoughlin, Chief Financial Officer. “Our strong balance sheet and cash flows continue to support both our capital return program and our investments in the business to drive future growth.”

Q2 RESULTS

Profit per share came in at $0.80 for the second quarter of this year, compared to $0.41 in the year-ago quarter. Third quarter 2017 non-GAAP diluted EPS2 expected to be at least $0.94.

Net profit was $470 million compared to $252 million in the second quarter of 2016.

Quarterly revenue rose to $3.67 billion, up 8.9% from the year-ago quarter and 3.5% sequentially. It expects third quarter 2017 revenue in the range of $3.73 billion to $3.78 billion.

“Cognizant delivered strong second-quarter results, which reflect our continued progress in helping clients achieve the value of digitizing their entire enterprises, or what we call being digital at scale,” said Francisco D’Souza, Chief Executive Officer. “We remain dedicated to accelerating our shift to digital services and solutions as we continue to invest in our core business and execute our margin improvement and capital return programs.”